


that afterglow

by ephemeral_fallacy



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: AU, Allusion to manga, Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence, Clouds, F/F, Gay boy, M/M, Multi, Nostalgia, Reincarnation AU, i cant wait to make people happy with this, im so happy rn, itll be fluff later, wow look its gonna be happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-24
Updated: 2014-10-24
Packaged: 2018-02-22 10:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2503757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephemeral_fallacy/pseuds/ephemeral_fallacy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reincarnation AU!</p><p>Hide wonders why he’s still drinking bitter black coffee.</p>
            </blockquote>





	that afterglow

**Author's Note:**

> un-beta'd yet again!   
> originally this was going to be a oneshot, but i dont want to end it angsty...i want fluffle hidekane tbh  
> so!  
> i don't own tokyo ghoul at all... //starts to cry

 

_There was a new kid in class; his blonde hair looked like someone glued a yellow puffball to his round-cheeked face, but his bright smile enchanted everyone right off the bat._

_“Hi, I’m Nagachika Hideyoshi!” His eyes closed as he continued to grin at the class. “But you can call me Hide!”_

_His brown eyes were round, bright, and all-seeing at that moment, scanning the class. They wandered through the rows, passing the students that stared back at him with welcoming faces and clapping hands, until he zeroed in on a black-haired child, meekly sitting to the side of the room._

_It was then that Nagachika Hideyoshi vowed to make friends with him. The little shy boy in the back, the boy whose claps were never heard in the midst of chirping birds._

 

* * *

 

 

Hide walks into the coffee shop first, the tinkle of the bell and the warm scent of coffee tickling his senses ever so pleasantly. This place feels warm, almost like home; it just feels so familiar, and inexplicably so. The waitress who he’s seen zero times waves to him enthusiastically with a small smile on her face.

 _She’s quite cute_ , Hide thinks, and grins back with a little shake of his hand.

As he waits, she gets closer, her uniform hugging her curves nicely, and Hide would have no problem trying to woo her, but today, he just doesn’t feel like it. It’s strange, he thinks to himself. She has dark hair, a rather emo-looking cut with her right eye hidden, but it fits her to a T. Her purple eyes stare at him for just a moment too long, before she cuts into her standard, “Welcome to Anteiku!”

The tag on her blouse reads, _Touka_ , and as Hide is led to his seat by the window, his tongue practices her name. He finds it easy off the tongue, like a practiced lyric to a singer, natural.

“What would you like?” Her voice snaps him out of his reverie and he colors slightly.

His eyes glaze over when he looks at the menu offered, and his mouth wants to say something, for some reason. It feels like he’s ordered here before, because he raises his head, his eyes catching on the back of someone’s head, and replies, “Just black coffee.”

Touka looks surprised for a moment, before nodding and simply pocketing the pen and pad she had in her hand.

“You don’t seem like the type to drink black coffee,” she remarks softly, but Hide picks up on it.

“I know,” he laughs lightly and stares in front of him, slumping slightly. “I don’t know why I want it.”

The waitress doesn’t reply, but her gaze lingers on him for a heartbeat more. Without another word, she turns and heads her way to another customer, a male with black hair. Hide doesn’t have anywhere else to look, and he finds his head turning towards Touka, or rather, who she’s talking to.

Her pad is out, but when the male speaks, she nods in the same way he ordered and slips her tools back into her pocket.

_He also ordered black coffee, then._

 

* * *

 

_“Let’s be friends!”_

_Kaneki was so surprised, his book almost flew out of his hand and tumbled into the river. His gray eyes widened, but he quickly averted his gaze from the glowing halo around Hide’s head._

_“What about it?” The boy persisted, and the bookworm’s face twisted slightly, weighing the odds. “I really would like to be friends with you!”_

_He felt his resolve crumbling; Hide reminded him of a puppy made of gold. He already fit in with the class, and yet, he still chose to reach out to him. No one ever did that, really. It was...a warm feeling, being sought out._

_“I guess…” Kaneki murmured, but the other child caught it before his voice was swallowed up by the blowing wind. In a surprisingly fast movement, Hide grabbed the black-haired boy’s hands, causing the book to fall page-up on the grass._

_His hands were warm, slightly larger, but they were tight. The feeling of being touched by another felt so foreign, but an instinctive smile spread on Kaneki’s lips. It felt nice. Hide was nice. The wind tousling both of their hair felt nice. The sunset behind him cast a glow on his new friend and made him look like an angel._

_Kaneki felt his heart thump hard against his ribs. This was foreign, but there was a first for everything…_

 

* * *

 

Touka’s not the one that delivers him his coffee; it’s a crabby-looking, bespectacled young man that really does look familiar. His hair is tousled, and despite his annoyed expression, his lips quirk upwards. There’s a girl behind him that’s giggling and blushing, so Hide assumes they’re going out. It’s only natural for him to play that role of assuming.

“Thanks,” he murmurs to the guy, but the waiter doesn’t really reply. The unassuming white cup contrasts with the darkness of the coffee and the aroma makes his saliva run wild. He hasn’t been here before, but he’s sure as hell going to keep coming at this rate.

Hide is careful not to touch the sides of the cup. Judging by the steam, it’s pretty hot and he doesn’t want to burn himself before the test he has tomorrow.

Choking back a sigh, he goes to sip the dark liquid.

And he is right. Pressing his lips together, he quickly places the cup back down and secretly nurses the reddening splotch on his lips. Glancing about, he deduces no one had seen his blunder and he exhales in relief.

The blonde blows on his cup, watching the steam fade in the mid-morning air. The cafe is busy and buzzing with activity. Touka, from his periphery, walks her way to a table and sets down a white cup and black liquid.

Hide stares.

It’s the black-haired young man. He can only see the back of his head, but...he feels so familiar.

As Hide continues to observe him, the male picks up the white cup and gingerly sips at the black coffee. However, he keeps drinking it, as if the heat and as if the bitterness doesn’t bother him at all. The blonde doesn’t really understand how anyone could drink black coffee.

“Why did I even order this, anyway?” He mutters and takes a sip.

It’s so bitter, running down his throat, so hot that it stings, but he drinks it all anyway. He seems to taste the faintest touch of nostalgia that keeps him going back for more.

 

* * *

 

_“I’m glad I have you, Hide,” Kaneki muttered. His shirt sleeves rolled up slightly as he shifted, the buttons scraping his pale, sensitive skin. A bruise colored a side of his face a disgusting myriad of purple, blue, and black, but in the dark of the night, it was hardly visible. “...Thanks.”_

_The blonde sitting beside him on the playground toy only moved a little closer to his dark-haired friend with a lopsided smile. “It’s no problem! We’re friends, aren’t we?” His smile grew bigger until he squeezed his eyes shut to compensate for his mouth’s size. But in the dark, only his smile reflected the moonlight and Kaneki felt his expression softening with a grin._

_“Yeah…”_

_Kaneki reached out and grabbed Hide’s hand, tightly. So tightly, he could feel the blood rushing in the blonde’s vein, and suddenly, from within him, he wanted to cry._

_“Kaneki?” Hide’s voice floated worriedly from someplace far away, and it felt like he was slipping away from him. He was right there, and yet, he seemed to be getting smaller, as if he were sailing away on his own, away from him…_

_“Don’t leave me, okay, Hide? Promise you’ll always find me?”_

_The words tumbled from his mouth before he could stop them and he felt the tears welling up in his eyes, stupid, stupid tears. Blinking rapidly, his chin was suddenly jerked up and he was staring into dark brown eyes gleaming in the night. The backdrop of stars and black trees was chillingly beautiful. His heart thumped loudly; he was sure Hide could hear it._

_But the blonde softly smiled with sad eyebrows and leaned so close, Kaneki could smell his sweet, warm scent that reminded him of cinnamon and clouds._

_“Kaneki, do you even need to ask these questions?” His smile was so warm, so close, his lips so near his own. His breath, a little moist, a little hot, fanning against his face was abnormally pleasant and the black-haired boy felt his cheeks reddening. “I’ll find you, no matter where you go, you know.”_

_A little more, and they would’ve kissed._

_Kaneki was the one that leaned closer, that time._

_Hide’s lips were as warm as his hands. Perhaps he did taste just like cinnamon and clouds._

 

* * *

 

The other customer is done before him, because his white cup makes a clink against the holding plate. It’s the only real sound Hide can hear. The male is wearing a beige coat, and a messenger bag is slung over his chair haphazardly. From here, he can deduce he’s, at least, a high schooler, maybe a college student.

Hide sips his coffee and hides the grimace. He really should put some sugar in his cup, but he’s almost done, so it’d be a waste.

His eyes follow the young man standing up naturally; he has a slim figure as he throws his bag strap over his shoulder and he’s marginally...attractive?

The blonde almost chokes when he turns around the corner because he wasn’t expecting _that_ cute of a face on a total stranger. His nose, the curve of his lips, the expressive gray eyes, the slim jawline, everything seems to cry out _familiarity_ , but he can’t place his name. It’s the first time he’s seen him, and yet, Hide feels as if he could proclaim his love at any moment and kiss every part of that angelic-looking face.

But he doesn’t.

He simply _can’t_.

His legs are shaking, and the burning in his nose means that the tears are threatening to surface.

 _Why am I crying?_ He thinks, and the male is heading closer. Touka seems to know him, as she waves with a small smile, and he waves back.

Even with the distance, he can hear her call, “See you tomorrow, Kaneki!” And just like that, the name has embedded itself into his mind, like a parasite, infecting him and taking over until the only thing bouncing in his head is that name.

It sounds perfect.

_Kaneki._

When he finally jerks back into the real world out of his mind, the male is gone. All he leaves is the lone coffee cup on his unoccupied table and the brief soft tinkle of bells, but he lingers so heavily in Hide’s mind…

Hide stands up, looking into the pristine white bottom of his cup. He feels Touka’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t wave like Kaneki does. He doesn’t know her, so why would he? _But he feels like he needs to…_

_._

_._

_._

The sky outside Anteiku is rosy blue, clouds stretching their fluffy fingers across its canvas and just that sight makes him feel as if he isn't living his own life. Just for a moment. He takes a deep breath, hoping that it’ll clear his mind.

It smells cinnamon and clouds, not the same fresh air and city-smell.

_  
But he doesn't seem to mind, at all. _


End file.
